Literature and writing never seemed interesting to Kevin Michael Jones. Boxing had always been his true passion.

Then one day, Jones was inspired to pick up a pen and begin jotting down poetry, a move that changed his life forever.

The Merchant Marine said he was sitting on the deck of a ship, enjoying the calm waters, the peaceful quiet and the cool breeze. The moment was so calm, &uot;it just made you want to write,&uot; he recalled.

After submitting his brief poem to a web site, poetry.com, Jones was able to accomplish in six months what it took Maya Angelou 20 years to do &045;&045; become a published writer.

After his poem was accepted by the web site, Jones continued to write. He submitted poems to publishing companies and began getting a positive response.

This spring, Jones’ poems, under the pen name of J. LePoet,

can be found in four compilation books and a spoken-word compact disc.

Poetry.com will be releasing &uot;The Sound of Poetry,&uot; a collection of 33 poets whose artistry will be professionally recorded for a three-album collection.

Jones said the books – &uot;Pattern of Life,&uot; &uot;Whispers in the Breeze,&uot; &uot;Soulful Tales&uot; and &uot;Letters of the Soul&uot; – will be published later in the year.

The biggest surprise for Jones came last week, when he was awarded a recording contract with Magic Key Productions. With this contract, Jones will become a songwriter, whose words could be used by several artists.

On Feb. 28, Jones will attend the International Society of Poets convention in Orlando, Fla., and compete for the title of Poet of the Year for 2003.

Jones will be in competition with 35 other poets from around the world. The grand prize will be $20,000.

The former boxer said he now finds joy in his writing.

Despite the book deals and recording contract, Jones said he has no plans to move to Hollywood.

Jones said his writing inspirations are Maya Angelou, Tupac Shakur and Nikki Giovanni.

Jones graduated from Selma High School in 1992. He said his parents, Roosevelt and Mary Jones, are extremely proud.